[MeekOneGOP]

Caught on Tape: ‘Hold onto your hat,’
says one U.S. intelligence official

Excerpt:

Caught on Tape

EXCLUSIVE: Bush administration to release tapes that could incriminate Iraq. ‘Hold onto your hat,’ says one U.S. intelligence official, ‘we’ve got it.’

By Michael Isikoff and Michael Hirsh
NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE

Jan. 31 — The Bush administration is preparing to release supersensitive electronic intercepts obtained by the National Security Agency that officials say prove that Iraq has repeatedly lied to United Nations inspectors, plotted among themselves about how to conceal weapons material and even appeared to boast afterward at their success in doing so, NEWSWEEK has learned.

       THE DECISION TO allow Secretary of State Colin Powell to use the electronic intercepts in his speech next Wednesday to the U.N. was described by U.S. intelligence officials as extraordinary. Electronic intercepts by the NSA are considered the most jealously guarded of all U.S. intelligence secrets and government officials are normally loath to even refer to their existence for fear of tipping off targets and drying up invaluable sources of information.
        But in this case, officials said, the intercepts are so damning and dramatic that officials say their release outweighs the potential harm—especially given the increased likelihood that the United States will shortly be launching an invasion of Iraq anyway.
        “Hold onto your hat. We’ve got it,” said one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the evidence gathered by the NSA.

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Full text on #28...

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[MeekOneGOP]

Sorry for the mixup folks. After posting the full text, which was removed, I find that the source is owned by the Washington Post.

Here is an easy link to the full text...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/867105.asp

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Comment #28 Removed by Moderator

HUH? What you talkin bout meek?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Great news!

The NSA intercepts establish conclusively that the Iraqis have been "hiding stuff" from the inspectors, the U.S. intelligence official said. "They're saying things like, 'Move that,' 'Don't be reporting that' and 'Ha! Can you believe they missed that'," the official said. "It's that kind of stuff."

Oh, I can almost hear the Democrats saying…. That? What's that?… it could be anything… this doesn't prove they've got weapons of mass destruction.

[MeekOneGOP]

Ah !...

The White House has been regularly receiving the NSA transcripts ever since the inspectors returned to Iraq late last year. The damning nature of some of the transcripts, officials said, explain President Bush’s occasional outbursts of anger at the Iraqis, as well as the willingness by Powell—who had previously cautioned against war—to lay out a damning picture of Iraqi noncompliance in next week’s speech. One official who had dinner with Powell recently said the secretary remarked how “we have a stronger case than many people realize.”

[ClancyJ]

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